13 December 2011
St John honours over 231 Years of Volunteer Commitment in the Wellington Region
From 8 years old to well into their 80s, St John Volunteers selfless commitment to care was honoured and celebrated with
VIP Guests, family and friends at the annual St John Wellington District Awards Ceremony at Massey University’s
Wellington Campus on Sunday.
Over 30 Volunteers from Wellington City, Porirua, Kapiti and the Hutt who are involved in St John’s Penguin and Youth
Cadet Units, First Aid at Events and Caring Caller programmes were given Awards for their many years of Service.
Special Guest Wellington Mayor Celia Wade Brown congratulated St John on the valuable work it undertakes in the
Wellington Region, including First Aid Training, Medical Alarms and community programmes for youth and those living
alone, and the regular first aid support for local events.
She noted last year St John provided 4,280 Volunteer hours at 260 Community events and a growing youth membership with
217 Youth Members and 56 Youth Leaders in the Wellington Region, and commended the Volunteers for their hard work and
compassion.
While St John does not provide emergency ambulance services in the Wellington Region, through its comprehensive network
of volunteers and paid staff St John is the first to care for Wellingtonians in many ways. These include:
• providing first aid at community, sporting, and entertainment events;
• providing first aid training throughout the region;
• Caring Caller - a telephone friendship service; and
• St John Youth- an interactive programme for youth aged between 6 and18.
St John also sells first aid kits and life saving automated electronic defibrillators (AED), and St John Medical Alarms
- for people who live alone or have a medical condition that could require urgent assistance, St John Medical Alarms are
monitored 24 hours a day and are connected directly to St John ambulance communications centres.
ENDS